60 is the new 40

At 74, I have never felt better. I work as hard as ever, and life continues to evolve.

Even though I have had open heart surgery and have been treated for an unusual salivary gland tumor, I feel as healthy as ever.

Nine years past the “retirement age,” I feel nowhere near my prime. Unfortunately, the arbitrary cutoff age that defines 65 as elderly causes many of us problems.

Although it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of age, it is more difficult for an older person to find employment and the 65th birthday is often used as an arbitrary line indicating an individual is too old to undertake certain activities or be eligible for certain medical procedures.

The reality of ageism in medicine can have devastating consequences for healthy but older patients.

Recently, I met an outstanding new patient. Truly fit and happy, she had just turned 65.

Unfortunately, this patient had developed a life-threatening illness called interstitial pulmonary fibrosis, a disease in which the lung converts to scar tissue.

The condition is untreatable, leads to increasing shortness of breath and eventual dependency on oxygen to breathe.

She had been evaluated at one of the finest health care centers in America and was told that her treatment options were limited.

Although a lung transplant could improve the quality and quantity of her life, she was ineligible for the operation because she was over the age of 65.

This is the worst form of ageism, which is defined as having a negative stereotype or discriminating against someone on the basis of age.

Medically, age should never be the sole factor when deciding whether a patient should be considered for an aggressive procedure.

More important than chronological age, the patient’s biologic age and his or her ability to respond to a major stress should be the major determinate in a physician’s assessment.

Someone who has no medical problems, is physically fit, and has normal cerebrovascular, cardiac, pulmonary, renal and liver function can handle virtually any major procedure.

Just recently one of my favorite patients, an active frisky man well into his 90s, was in a major motor-vehicle accident.

Despite having a broken neck and some neurological problems, he handled surgery with flying colors and was up and walking just a few days later.

His rate of recovery has been slower than it would have been were he in his 50s, but recovery has been well within grasp.

This strong woman with lung problems has a highly productive life expectancy of 20 years or longer.

She should be an ideal candidate for surgery, but performing the procedure on another individual with the same condition who is overweight, has diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and chronic renal disease would probably not be appropriate.

In other words, age is not important, rather, the presence of other illnesses, known as co-morbid conditions, are most relevant.

More than some fad catchphrase, 60 truly is the new 40. It is time change our view about aging. Baby boomers will soon reach age 65 and must be treated equally to those decades younger.

But we must also ask, why retire, why no longer learn, why no longer contribute and why not run for public office?

In the field of medicine, age is merely one factor in a long list of health considerations. Even those in their 80s and beyond must be treated aggressively if warranted and appropriate.

Medicine is both an art and a science – in some cases, the reasons to treat the “elderly” with certain procedures may change. A good example is an open-heart surgery.

There is no evidence that this procedure will prolong life or reduce the risk of another heart attack. However, it will significantly improve symptoms, such as shortness of breath or chest pain that does not respond to medical treatment.

In this small segment of patients, quality and even quantity of life can be improved. So, if someone tells your “senior” friend that he has asymptotic coronary artery disease and needs an invasive procedure, think twice.

But, if the indication is there and quality of life can be improved, the benefit can be real.

Remember, age is only a number. Your health depends not on how many years you lived, but how well you lived them.

Dr. David Lipschitz is the medical director for the Mruk Family Education Center on Aging and the Fairlamb Senior Health Clinic. Contact him at askdrdavid@gmail.com.